MOONLIGHT
by Gray the Fox
Summary: Years after Brawl a new tournament had again united fighters and lovers. Married now, Lord Marth and Queen Zelda enjoy peace and quiet. However the lover of their friend Samus did not return. Staring at the far away moon, she asks: What happened to Snake?


Yo,

This is an approved sequel to **"Starlight"**, a one-shot written by **Soldier's Shadow.** I recommend you to read that before reading mine. It's a pretty cool fic.

Rating: K for kids, but if you are a teen or adult you may read it too!

Pairings: Zelda x Marth, Samus x Snake? (Want to know whether Snake is in the story, keep on reading then. :P)

WITH GODSPEED, LET'S GO!

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><p><strong>== MOONLIGHT ==<strong>

**CHAPTER ONE  
><strong>

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><p><em>The stars are high up in the endless night sky. Surrounded by the black void they seem to remain unstirred and motionless on the same spot. Patiently they are watching over neighbouring celestial bodies, illuminating the way with starlight. They are our guardians, by giving light and warmth, we can see with our eyes and we don't have to stay cold. With their light signals, stars can communicate with each other as sounds cannot be perceived in the airless vacuum of the Universe. Stars also have different colours depending on their distance. When they are far away they are red, and closer stars are blue. <em>

_Nobody was certain whether the stars ever move away from their resting place. From our point of view, they don't seem moving, do they? But when you look up at the sky, during the day, they are vanished suddenly! Not really, the big stars you can still see. But where did the little ones go? Are they on vacation? Hmmm, it can be, yet it is not likely. If they go on vacation, why would they return so quickly when it turns night? Then it means that they stay the same place for the whole time, whether we see them or not._

_Are stars then never bored in staying the same place? Don't they want to ever want walk away? Mario said that some stars can move and jump and showed us a portable star with a smiley face, but someone else said that those aren't real stars. McCloud said that stars are just lump of a certain rock type, nothing special, just like other things floating in the universe. Kirby said a mere Poyo when he showed us the star which he rides on. Luigi complained to see a lot of spinning stars when King Bowser accidentally stamped over him with his thousand gallon weight. So at the end, it leaves the question: What are stars?_

_What about moons? Moons are in the sky too. They give light like stars, but why can their shape change? Sometimes we see them round, sometimes they are shaped a banana, and sometimes they are ellipses. The moons loves to change their appearance, it seems. And how do we know when we see the 'real' moon, when they keep morphing?_

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><p>Lord Marth laid comfortably outstretched on the sofa in the living room. Eyes closed and snoring softly, the sovereign had peacefully fallen asleep. A thick tome with golden-rimmed brown cover, reading the title: "Ancient Hyrulian Beorc Tales" concealed Marth's familiar face. (It's the Hyrulian version of fairy tales, they prefer reading stories about other races.) Shiny strands of azure on the sofa's arm leaner and navy blue royal outfit gave away that the sleeping man indeed was the king of Hyrule. He had faced a long day of Brawl early this morning until late afternoon, and one thing Marth deserved most is rest.<p>

The little girl sneaked upon the sleeping man, impishly like a thief in the night. Carefully she picked up the striped straw from a nearby lemonade glass, making sure that she didn't stir the tiny ice cubes, which otherwise could awaken the King. Lord Marth was often targeted by assassins and it was not unthinkable that the royalty were trained to detect any single change of sound. Fortunately, the frozen blocks didn't cast chiming sounds when they bumped against each other. _'Yay'_, the young child mentally told herself for succeeding the first step.

She bended down and crawled on the rainbow-coloured rug, which dyed wool derived from the healthiest Mareep of the Johto region. Her white silken dress was covered with flocks of grey dust, since nobody actually bothers to clean up the Mansion. Placing carpets on every floor was not the best idea when considering hygiene, blame Crazy Hand for the great decision. Silently, the young brunette drew close to the King by picking uncomfortable but sneaky routes; like seeking hide beneath numerous dinner tables. Her round cerulean eyes shone with mischievous joy when she finally saw the sleeping man in front of her.

Very slowly she tilted the storybook with her small child fingers, which revealed the face of a peaceful Marth. He wasn't disturbed at all, the sovereign continued to murmur gibberish what people often do during their sleep unconsciously. A streak of drool was even seen at the corner of lips, which casted a rather innocent infantile appearance, unfitted for a handsome man like him. So tired was the King, that he didn't even bother to wipe away the liquid. The brown-haired girl waved the straw like a magic wand above his face, ready to poke an unfortunate man.

"Marle!" A female voice exclaimed out of sudden. From shock the straw and tome glided away from her hands. The little girl dashed under the tablecloth quickly, like a cat being chased away. Queen Zelda wasn't angry at all, she even managed to smile when her girl attempted to pull pranks. Sometimes she does wish that Princess Marle behaves more proper for a young lady, however tomboy behaviour appeals her more. Plus the bad influence from the playful Ike and Link seemed to overrule the teachings of Peach, Marth and her own. Still, she recognised a lot from the girl in herself. How many times in fact has she been using the persona of Sheik to get outside her castle? Too many times to keep count.

"O-.. huh? Zelda?" Marth uttered half-sleepily upon recognising his wife's voice. He wasn't even aware that he had dozen asleep when reading bedtime stories for his daughter. The blue-haired sovereign stretched his arms and yawned (with of course a hand covering over his mouth).

"Marle. You can come out." Zelda calmly spoke with subtle hints of sternness, which is effective for educating. The young princess showed her defeat meekly and her head appeared under the tablecloth. The Hyrulian queen offered her hand which the girl immediately accepted. She helped her up from the dusty table and Zelda sighed when she saw the supposedly virgin white attire of her daughter. From head to toe Marle was covered with dust.

"Marle, it is improper behaviour to bother someone in his sleep. Never do it again, okay?" the elfin queen asked in friendly manner. How much she attempted to keep the stern tone loaded in her voice, eventually it failed. Nobody could be angry at a child. It has always been Zelda's forgiving nature that she cannot be really angry or furious with anyone. The Hyrulian has even forgiven Ganondorf, despite his unholy deeds of usurping the powers of Triforce.

"Mama... I'm sorry. I will never bother papa again." Marle apologetically replied. At the same time, the princess put her cutest shiny puppy eyes in front of her mother. Nobody can resist cute girly charms, right?

"Then is it fine." Her hand moved over the chocolate brown hair of Marle, gently stroking her child's head.

"Sweetheart, shouldn't you be sleeping already? It's bedtime. Even papa has fallen asleep." Marth told her with a kind laugher. Princess Marle pouted her lips, apparently she saw it more as a punishment. His Queen began to smile upon his remark.

"Children nowadays have their own ways, Marth."

"Marle, my dear. Please listen to papa." King Marth tried once again.

"No." a high-pitch voice shortly replied. The girl glanced at Zelda, hoping that she didn't agree with her husband, Marle's papa.

"You can stay up if you want." She told the princess.

"Yay!" Marle happily cheered.

"Marth, shall I walk with you to our bedroom?"

"No thanks, Zelda."

"I'll be staying up for a while with our little Princess. Goodnight Marth." Zelda strode over to her husband. Despite not being clearly awake, he could not be mistaken about the sight of his beautiful wife right before him. Radiant azure blue eyes, pointy ears shaped like bamboo leaves, doll-like porcelain face, this beauty could only belong to Zelda. But most pretty of all, was her kind smile. A small arch, anything from extravagant, but still visible to be noticed. Not necessarily a smile to express happiness or contentment, it was a smile that told you that there was hope even when situations became irreversible. The same smile that saved him from the agony and suffering when he surrendered his Kingdom of Altea. Zelda taught Marth that he should never subdue himself when there are other options to deal with his life, rather than being cynical.

The King pushed away the chestnut long flocks that covered her face. Then he caressed her cheeks delicately. They looked each other in the eyes, eyes that hardly have been aged during all those years. Zelda closed her eyes and her husband instantly understood the sign.

Despite being sleepy, doesn't mean that Marth has lost his romantic traits. He kissed her briefly on her lips, soft and tenderly. It lasted short, but it felt much longer. Mesmerised by the kiss, it was if time was frozen in a serene state, unaffected by any changes or worries.

When lips departed, reality came back. Both of them were surprised that kissing each other again felt so good. It was sad, however true. The older you get the less romantic time you spend with your lover. Time had flown by swiftly. How long was it actually, the closure of the previous Brawl tournament? Six years? Seven years? Slightly even more than seven years in fact.

"Yuck", the tomboyish Marle quietly said in the background, not understanding why her parents had to kiss. After that, Marth murmured how sleepy he was and went to bed. While Zelda walked over to her daughter.

"So Marle, what do you want to do?"

The girl raced outside the Mansion, with Zelda hardly keeping her up. _'I won't transform into Sheik'_, the Hyrulian woman mused, when she as a mother had to set a good example how to be a lady. The summer nights in Smash Universe were cool and soothing. Scythers and Cricketunes were chirping in the night. Thousands of stars hung in the cloudless night sky. Tiny polka dots, which probably are immense celestial clusters when seen up close, glittered brilliantly above their heads. A streak of light fell upon her silver tiara in the shape of a crescent moon. Marle ran upon a grassy hill where you could see parts from the Mansion and the forest. Her mouth fell slightly open in a small 'o' when she gazed up her head.

"Mama, look at the stars!" Zelda in turn looked up.

The sight of the starlit heaven was beautiful, she hadn't seen such intense radiance for a long time. They say that something good is bound to happen when the night is filled with shining stars. The last time when the stars were aligned in such harmonic manner was before the time her Princess was born. However, even though how gorgeous the evening was at that time, only bittersweet memories remained, rather than entirely happy ones. It was precisely on the last night of Brawl, when every Smasher spent their time together, in case it was their last time they ever could. After attending the victory speech of Marth's best friend Ike (also her friend), she watched the stars, together with her prince Marth. Her greatest fear was that Marth would never come back. Zelda remembered how many tears she had shed and how she rested her head on his shoulder, while he used his navy blue mantle to cover her body from the night's cold when she had fallen asleep on the hill where she is standing now.

Three years after Brawl, the Smash Committee decided to organise another tournament thanks to its great success, immense popularity (and easy source of moneymaking for Nintendo). Every Smasher was eager for another tournament. Lord Ganondorf couldn't bear the itch for a sweet revenge on Ike. Not villainous type of vengeance, one would expect from the dark warlock. No, he wished to beat Ike, the champ of the previous Brawl tournament, fair-and-squarely with his newly trained arcane powers. Kirby, King Dedede and Wario couldn't wait for the delicacies which they serve for the Smashers, as it's a common fact that the pink star warrior is a gluttonous eater. The other two are just too stingy to spend money on anything, when the food is free, it's a whole different story.

When friends and lovers were blissfully reunited, it was almost like a dream come true. Prince Marth returned, as he promised. And look now. They married and they even have a three-year old child. New Smashers had arrived and most of the veterans had returned, with a few exceptions. Some had to attend businesses and could not leave their place, hence the absence of Roy for a longer period. However when someone mentions the name Snake, the room becomes quite again. Not that anyone really despised the American spy, who was remembered as distant and moody man. It was the feelings of uneasiness that came together with his name. Therefore, the newcomers never knew Solid Snake and it remained that way. The veteran knew the reason why they never bring up his name, they did it out of respect for Samus.

"Mama, cay we visit Ms. Aran?" Marle enthusiastically asked when she noticed the strange spires which were arranged in a round circle on top of a higher hill. The metal spires are covered with lamps that emitted intermittent blinking light. Queen Zelda assumed that these were measuring tools for her field experiments, despite she had no knowledge how they functioned.

"Of course you can dear. However, be careful that you don't step inside the stream next to the hill, and you should behave..."

"Which means no touching. Or Ms. Aran gets very upset."

"Alright, Marle."

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><p>And here I conclude the first chapter. I have a lot of homework so I don't know when the next chapter will be up. SEE YOU AROUND! BTW reviews are like totally awesome you know what to do. :P<p> 


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